This story is a short story that branches off from Phantom Evolution Rewrite. If you have not read that story, then I suggest that you do, but I did leave a summary of what Randy has gone through if you don't want to wait that long. Some of this story was a bit hard to put together, but I tried my best.

I do not own anything in this story.

Hey, how are you guys doing? I'm Randy Cunningham, and man, I got a story to tell you. I have been out fighting as the Ninja for over a year now, and Mr. McFist still attacks me with his robots which have been getting boring lately. I mean he's been trying so hard lately that he's been getting even more desperate than I can even care to notice. Even the school does not seem to care which makes him such a shoob.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago my class won a special trip to New York City, and Howard and I were stoked. Unfortunately, the school paired us up with different people and not each other. Howard got stuck with Debbie Kang while I got Theresa Fowler. At the time I thought it was a bad idea, but Howard had no chance to get separated from Debbie for her special keen eye, and I didn't want Howard to get another detention since he's getting to the point where he can get expelled, but that's another story for later.

The first Ninja reveals to me about these stone known as the Elemental Gems and how the Sorcerer corrupted the gems to turn whoever uses them into evil beings. We met a man called Dr. Strange who agreed to help us find the gems as well as train me for future fights. Dr. Strange wanted to test me before he started my training, and I was forced to bring Theresa with me and tell her everything about me being the Ninja. I went through many tests, and some of them were wonk.

Now, I'm the next true holder of the mask right after the first Ninja, and Theresa and I have started dating. I don't know much about the stones yet, but I tend to start finding things out when my first training starts. I do know one thing though. I am the Ninja, and I am Randy Cunningham!

"Ah, I'm surprised to find it nice to be back in school." Randy Cunningham says as he walks into the school with his best friend Howard Weinerman.

"Yeah right, I rather be back in New York playing video games and get to meet the heroes in person." Howard says not meaning a single word he just said.

"I know you wanted to meet them Howard, but heroes are always busy with hero work. You would have been lucky to talk to one at all."

"You mean how you got to fight alongside with Phantom?" Howard asks rolling his eyes at his best friend's comment.

"I will admit that none of it was planned, but it was one of the brucest days of my life minus the time travel mishap." Randy says feeling excited again that he got to work with Phantom.

"Don't you dare start getting excited again." Howard says frustrated that his best friend got to do something he missed out on. "I'm still mad that you got to do something everyone wanted to do."

"It's not my fault that I was needed to help save an entire race of people from having their powers drained by a supervillain." Randy says sarcastically as they walk up to Randy's locker. Randy opens his locker and says, "Howard, I know that you're jealous that I got to meet some famous heroes…"

"Jealous, I'm not jealous. If anyone is jealous, it should be you."

Randy rolls his eyes at his best friend's comeback and sighs, "Fine, let's just put this behind us before we shoob up our friendship over nothing… again."

"This isn't nothing Cunningham. You got to be the only person in our class who got to hang out with a hero."

Randy turns his head to look at Howard with a raised eyebrow. "You are never going to let this go, are you?"

"No, I'm not." Howard crosses his arms over his chest to make his point.

"You really need to learn proper English, Weinerman."

"Huh?" Howard turns around to see Debbie Kang and Theresa Fowler walking up to them. "What is that supposed to mean Kang?"

"You should know what I mean, Howard. If you actually took the time to study, you would be able to handle an insult if you knew what it meant." Debbie replies giving him a victorious smirk.

Howard frowns and glares at Debbie. "I hate you so much right now."

Theresa walks up to Randy and smiles at him. "Hey Randy."

"Hey Theresa, how has your day been?" Randy asks turning his head to look at her as he grabs the last book he needs for his history class.

"Nothing has happened yet, but it has been getting better now that I'm here with you." She replies giving him a flirty smile.

Randy smiles back and shuts his locker. "That's good to hear. You still planning to come over to my house after school?"

She nods her head and starts walking away from Howard and Debbie with Randy walking next to her. "Yep, I can't wait to see how your powers really work. When does your training from Dr. Strange start?"

"Today, it turns out that I might be learning some mystical arts too after my encounter with…" Randy looks around the area carefully making sure no one was listening to them then whispers, "Dr. Doom."

"I still can't believe you actually fought him."

"Are you kidding? Phantom did all the fighting. I saved the people from being controlled by the evil energy." He explains hoping she would understand what he means. "The only good thing that came out of it was I got to make a couple new friends and learn more about the secrets people hide from the public."

"You haven't told me what you found out though."

"That's because I have to keep it secret. If anyone found out about any of the things I learned about, it might cause chaos, and that is one thing we do not need right now." Randy points out getting the girl to sigh.

"Did you tell Howard about it?"

"Nope, and he does not need to know about any of it for his own good. If he were to find out about any of it, he will flip out."

"Good or bad?"

"Both." Randy and Theresa stop at the door to their classroom, and Randy gestures for her to enter the room first. "After you my lady."

Theresa giggles and walks into the classroom with Randy following her. "I guess we'll talk about it after school then."

"Yep, I'll see you then."

After School

Randy walks out the front door with Howard trying to act like his bag was extremely heavy. Randy stops at the bottom of the stair and glances back at his best friend then rolls his eyes at Howard's over dramatic mood. "Let it go Howard. You need to catch up on that homework that you should have done on the trip."

"No one told me we had to do homework on the trip!" Howard yells angrily in the air. He puts his backpack over his shoulder and grunts not liking the situation he got himself in. "This is so unfair!"

Randy rolls his eyes and walks away leaving his best friend alone to his suffering. 'Being dramatic won't help you Howard.'

Howard runs up next to his best friend and asks, "Why did you not help me man? I clearly needed help back there."

"You didn't need help Howard. You shoobed it up when you didn't do your homework, and now you're paying the price for not doing it." Randy points out getting Howard to groan frustrated that Randy had to point out the obvious. "It isn't my fault you procrastinated."

"You and your fancy words have no effect on me Cunningham."

"No, but your sister does." Randy says pointing at the car pulling up to them.

"Oh no…" Howard mutters as he stares at the vehicle in horror.

The front door opens, and Heidi Weinerman exits the vehicle glaring at her brother who winces at the look. "I cannot believe you didn't do your homework on the trip. All you had to do was one set geometry problems and a one-page paper on what you did on the trip. How hard is it to do a simple paper?"

"It was hard because all I did was go around town looking for heroes for Debbie to interview."

Randy face-palms and turns his back to his best friend. "I'm not helping you out of this one buddy." He mutters before walking away.

"You are in so much trouble with mom and dad when we get home!" Heidi grabs her brother's ear and pulls him into the vehicle. She drives off passing by Randy who watches the vehicle leave the school.

"Wow, she did that way faster than last time." Randy admits as he sees the vehicle disappear from his view.

"Are you ready to go Randy?"

Randy turns his head to see Theresa walk up to him. "Yep, let's get going." The two leave the school grounds with Theresa grabbing Randy's hand as they were off the school ground.

Randy and Theresa enter Randy's room, and Randy shuts the door behind them. Theresa looks around Randy's room noticing the pictures of the Grave Puncher video game and mutters, "He really enjoys playing video games a lot."

"Sorry about all the video game cases and pictures all on the floor. Howard and I had a game marathon yesterday until Heidi came over and dragged him home." Randy explains before putting his bag on his desk. "I'll pick up the Grave Puncher games really quick."

"Why didn't you pick them up after Heidi came over and took Howard home?"

"I was watching the show eating popcorn, and by show, I mean Heidi dragging Howard all the way home while he fought for his life." Randy jokes as he starts picking the game cases up off the floor.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Theresa removes the strap of her bag off her shoulder and drops the bag next to the bottom bunk of the bunk beds in Randy's room. "Why do you have two beds in your room?"

"Howard loves to stay the night especially away from his sister. Sometimes he goes a bit too dramatic with everything, but it's also because my parents can't afford getting me a new bed which is wonk, but I don't have to worry about setting anything up if Howard stays over." Randy explains as he finishes grabbing the game cases and puts them on his TV stand.

"That's good…I guess." Theresa finishes not sure how she should take the situation.

"Anyway, let's get back into why we're actually here right now."

Theresa smiles as Randy turns around and walks over to the bed. "How much longer until you have to go?"

"I'm not sure, but I do know that my training is going to do me wonders, and I mean good wonders not those bad things you see happen in movies or tv shows." Randy says feeling a bit nervous about his new training

Theresa giggles and puts her right hand over Randy's left hand. "You don't have to be nervous Randy."

"I know, but this will be the first time I would be training with someone in real life."

"Wait, you never trained to be the Ninja in the real world? How did you even train then?" Theresa asks feeling confused.

Randy rubs the back of his neck nervously and grins sheepishly. "Technically, I did train in real life, but most of my training was done in the Ninja Nomicon." He tells her. He gets off the bed and opens his backpack grabbing the red and black book from the confinements of his bag. Theresa watches as Randy turns to her and holds the book in his hands. "The Ninja Nomicon, this book has been handed down to every person who got to wear the mask to become the Ninja. It teaches us moves hidden inside the mask and gives us wisdom when we have something to learn about the road of life or something like that."

Theresa nods her head understanding what Randy meant. "Ok, is it possible for anyone else to go into this Ninja book?"

Randy sits down next to Theresa and looks up in thought. "Honestly, I do not know if it is possible. I mean, Howard has only gone once, and back then we didn't know if it possible for anyone besides the Ninja holders to go into the Nomicon." 'Though now that I think about it he did become the Ninja for a short period of time, but Theresa doesn't need to know that.'

"Huh, when did Howard go into this book?"

Randy smiles nervously and says, "Let's just say that I shoobed something up, and he had to save my neck before it went out of control."

"Didn't you guys do that a lot last year?"

Randy chuckles, "Yeah, we were a couple guys who just wanted to fit in the school as somebody."

"You really went overboard in trying to fit in though."

Randy looks away from Theresa smiling nervously. "You could say that."

"Well…"

They hear some grunting noises from outside the window, and Randy walks over to the window with his eyelids lowered for him to make the annoyed look. He opens the window and looks down at Howard who was trying to get into Randy's house through the window. "Ok, I can do this. I just need…"

"Need to use the front door." Randy interrupts getting Howard to look up at him.

"Hey Cunningham, I'll be right up." Howard says before Randy could speak his mind.

Randy watches his best friend run to the front door and sighs, "Why am I not surprised?" He shuts the window and turns to Theresa when the door to his room opens with a heavy slam showing Howard and his big grin.

"Hey Cunningham, guess who got his homework done in time to join his friend for his training session?" Howard asks giving his friend a big grin.

"Howard, do you really want me to believe you actually…" Howard shoves his phone in Randy's face showing the geometry problems worked out and the one-page paper completely typed out and printed. "How did you finish that in record time?"

Howard puts his phone in his pocket and says, "That doesn't matter. What does matter is that I actually get to come along with you on your first training day, and tomorrow is Saturday which means a full weekend of us playing video games. It's going to be so wonking bruce!"

Randy smiles, "Well then I guess I can't argue then. I'm proud of you buddy, but don't let this go to your head." He puts his right hand on Howard left shoulder getting Howard look at the hand then back at Randy. "One good deed does not make one a good man."

"Since when is doing my homework a good deed?"

"It doesn't, but I was trying to make a point."

Howard rolls his eyes. "Yeah, if you mean that you were trying to confuse me, then you did a wonking job at it."

"It's not my fault that the Nomicon keeps giving me lessons in riddles. I'm just starting to understand the meaning behind the quotes without learning the lesson from…" Randy trails off when he turns his head to Theresa. "We're not bothering you about any of this, are we?"

"Hm?" Howard turns his head to Theresa and blinks a couple times. "Oh, I didn't even know you were here Theresa. Sorry about that."

"It's alright you two." Theresa assures them relieved that Randy was paying attention to her.

"No, it's not alright." Randy says getting Howard to look at his best friend in surprise.

"Yes, it is. She just said so." Howard decides to point out.

Randy rolls his eyes and moves to sit down on the bed next to Theresa. "I'll be honest with both of you." Randy starts getting the two teens to look at him. "So much is going on in my life both good and bad. Sometimes I would love to act like I always did when we were younger, but I'm starting to see things differently after discovering things normal people can't know about."

"What kind of things?" Howard asks feeling a bit uneasy with his best friend's tone.

"I can't tell you for good reasons."

"Are you trying to leave me out of everything?" Howard asks wanting to know what Randy was hiding.

"No Howard, I'm not trying to do that." Randy runs his right hand through his hair and sighs in defeat. "So much has happened to me Howard, and you were with me all last year, but everything is changing around us. Theresa knows my secret. I find out I'm the current true holder of the mask after the First Ninja. Then you got me fighting and protecting people that I would have never seen being a part of my life."

"What are you saying Cunningham?" Howard asks feeling the seriousness behind Randy's words.

"If we're going to stay as best friends with how we are now, we will not be getting through the challenges up ahead. Howard, my time in New York was something no one else was able to go through. I never told you what happened to me for good reasons. The first reason was because of who I met there."

"Who did you meet?"

"Dr. Doom."

Howard gasps and takes a couple steps back in surprise. "But Dr. Doom is supposed to be one of the best super villains of the world. What did he do that would involve you?"

"He had a Sorcerer ball."

Howard's eyes widen in surprise, and Theresa gives Randy a confused look. "I thought you locked up all those balls back in the seal where the Sorcerer was the past eight hundred years?"

"I thought too, but it turns out he had one of them."

"Uh, what's a Sorcerer Ball?" Theresa asks getting both male teens to look at her.

"I forgot she was here again." Howard whispers to Randy. Randy walks to his closet and opens the closet to reveal a small bag sitting on the ground. "What the juice? You still have it!"

"Of course, I still have it, Howard." Randy grabs the bag and walks to his desk with Theresa getting off the bed curious about what the Sorcerer ball was. "I need it to put it away in the seal, so no one can use it again."

"Is it even possible for you to open the seal anyway?" Howard asks not liking Randy's plan.

"I don't know, but I need to try." Randy opens the bag and pulls the orb out his bag allowing Theresa to get a good look at it.

"What can this thing do?" Theresa asks as she looks at the orb curiously.

"You remember when our classmates and other students were turned into monsters?"

Theresa nods, "Yeah, it's really hard to forget something like that since it happened every other week at school." She shudders when she remembers that she was one of the victims to transform into a monster. "Everyone was happy when you defeated the Sorcerer for good ending the idea of us turning into monsters."

"I doubt it will be over." Randy mutters before putting the orb back into the bag. He zips the bag up and walks to closet putting the bag back in it.

"Are you saying Dr. Doom might come back for the rest Sorcerer Balls?" Howard asks curiously.

"It might happen, but this training will help me be able to take on guys like him." He shuts the closet door and turns to face Howard and Theresa. "I don't know what will happen for the training, but one thing is for sure. I will never let anyone destroy everything I worked so hard for." The three hear something and turn their heads to see a small vortex appear in Randy's room before transforming into mirror. Randy walks up to the mirror and sees the open area of dirt and rocks.

"So… what are we supposed to do?" Howard asks as he stares at the mirror confused on what should be done.

"I think we just walk through it." Theresa answers not completely sure herself.

"Let's find out." Randy mutters as he puts his right hand out in front of him. He puts his hand on the mirror and widens his eyes as his hand goes through the part that was meant to look like it was glass. "We're clear." He takes a couple steps back then runs through the mirage getting Theresa and Howard to widen their eyes.

"That is so honking bruce!" Howard yells happily throwing his hand up in the air. He runs after Randy and jumps through the mirror leaving Theresa alone in the room.

"Here goes nothing I guess." Theresa mutters before walking through the mirror. The mirror flashes a couple times in the empty room and disappears like it was never there to begin with.

Randy leads Howard and Theresa down the rocky terrain and stops when he sees a field of weapons lying across the ground. He hears his best friend and somewhat girlfriend's footsteps stop on either side of him looking at the field. "Ok, I'm confused. Why did we stop?" Howard asks Randy.

"You can feel it. Can't you Randy?" Theresa and Howard turn around to see a man with a blue tunic with a black belt around the waist, black boots, a chain necklace holding a pendant that looks like an eye, and a red cape that cover most of his neck.

"Dr. Strange, it is good to see you again." Theresa says giving Dr. Strange a small bow.

"Wait, you're supposed to be training my best friend?" Howard asks pointing his right index finger at the man. "What the juice Cunningham? You made it seem like this guy was cool!" He turns his head back to his best friend hoping to get a reaction from Randy. He blinks when he does not hear anything come from his best friend. "Cunningham?"

"What is this place?" Randy asks feeling cautious.

Dr. Strange walks up to the teens and says, "What you are seeing is a battlefield. This place is one of the many places where people have fought to save our planet."

"That didn't really answer my question." Randy points out.

"I know. The day we met your mentor told you about the elemental gems that were used for good before the Sorcerer corrupted them. This battle was a fight against one of them."

Randy lowers his head dreading the question he knows that he must ask. "Which one?"

Dr. Strange sighs knowing Randy will not like the answer. "Air, and the stone is active as we speak."

Randy balls his hands up and walks down to the remains of the battlefield. Howard starts moving after him but stops when Strange puts his left arm in front of him. "Hey, why are you stopping me? I want to go down there too and see those cool weapons." Howard says finding it offensive that he was being denied that moment.

"This is Randy's first test of training." Dr. Strange explains getting Howard to 'ugh' in defeat. "There will be times when he will have to accept the fact that he couldn't be there to save everyone."

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate tests?"

Theresa rolls her eyes at Howard's question and crosses her arms over her chest. "Yes Howard, you say it so many times back at school, but you're not the one taking the test this time." She reminds the shortest teen. "Randy is taking it, and honestly, I wish I was down there with him."

"He might need the moral support in the future you two, and I'm quite certain you two can give it to him. Right now, though, we're going to watch Randy as he starts his official training." Dr. Strange explains to them.

"Fine." Howard groans and sits down on the ground crossing his arms over his chest. "This better be worth it."

Randy walks into the battlefield and looks over the field as he passes by multiple weapons that were flat on the ground or stabbed into the ground. He stops walking as he gazes over each weapon in worry. "When did this battle even happen?" He asks himself as he gazes over the entire field.

He continues walking through the battlefield and stops when his right foot steps on some metal. He removes his foot and looks down at the broken sword. He leans down and looks at the broken parts noticing how smooth the broken parts were. He grabs the handle of the broken sword and mutters, "How strong can air really be?"

"Extremely, if you want me to be honest."

Randy turns around to find the first Ninja looking at the battlefield. "How are you here?" He asks his mentor.

The first Ninja looks at Randy and says, "Dr. Strange gave me access to make a mirage of me so we can speak outside of the Nomicon. It becomes helpful for situations like this."

Randy nods understanding what his mentor was meaning. "Ok, are you going to explain why we're here then?"

"I will, but there is one thing I need to know. What did you feel when you found out that the holder of the air element did this?"

Randy moves back up with the handle of the broken sword in his right hand. "Honestly, I'm not sure what I should feel. One part of me knows that there is nothing I can do, but there is a part of me that knows this battle could have been avoided if past ninjas knew about these stones, but the Sorcerer would have been free from his seal if one of them has done that."

"You're conflicted with how things could have been handled. That's normal, and it means that you have much to learn about the mind."

"That might be true, but I never would have thought air would be this strong to face. Do you know how many people died fighting this guy?"

The first Ninja sighs, "I do not."

"Then I guess we need to make sure he never does it again." Randy stabs the broken metal into the ground and walks further into the battlefield with the first Ninja following him.

"You said that this was supposed to be about Randy being tested, right?" Howard asks the Sorcerous Supreme.

"That is correct." Dr. Strange answers not sure why Howard was asking the question.

"Ok, if he's supposed to be learning something, why is he going further into the field of weapons?"

"Good question, but it is not an answer I can give since I cannot read his mind."

"Oh, come on! You can use magic. I thought you could use it to read people's minds."

"Howard!" Theresa yells giving the orange-haired teen a glare.

Dr. Strange puts his right hand up in front of Theresa getting her to stop before she could say something to defend Dr. Strange. "Tell me Howard. What do you know about the mystic arts?"

"Uh…" Howard says unsure on how he should answer the question. He blinks a couple times then sighs when nothing comes to his mind. "Alright fine, I don't know anything about magic. Are you happy?" He asks turning his back to them with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Howard how long have you and Randy been friends?"

Howard shuts his eyes and shakes his head. "I don't see how that's relevant."

Dr. Strange puts his hands behind his back and looks back at the battlefield. "Ok, do you trust your best friend?"

"Of course, I trust him." Howard replies immediately turning around to face Dr. Strange. "I mean…yeah, we've shoobed things up, but our friendship has pulled through despite all the stuff we've done."

"Then why do you act like you don't trust him?"

Howard freezes at the question and stares at the Sorcerous Supreme in shock. He knows the truth as to why he has been acting like this but does not want to admit it. "It isn't that." Howard mutters not wanting to explain his real reason.

"What is it then?" Theresa asks getting Howard to glance at her. He turns away looking down at the ground. "Howard, what is bothering you so much that you have to act like this?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because Randy cares!"

"Why is everything always about him? He gets the mask, he gets the girls, he gets the special training, and what do I get?" Howard asks rhetorically. "I get clean up duty, left behind most of the time, and pushed away from his 'hero' duties."

"You also take his money, don't do your homework most of time, and eat his food behind his back." Theresa points out getting Howard to look at her in surprise. "Yes, I saw you do that kind of stuff from time to time even when I didn't know Randy's secret."

"That's not the point."

"Actually, I believe she's on to something here."

"Oh, come on! Why does everyone team up against me?" Howard yells losing his temper at the argument he was finding himself in with Theresa and Dr. Strange. "I don't even know who you even are!"

"Howard, what are you truly afraid of?" Dr. Strange asks deciding to ignore Howard's last outburst.

"I'm not afraid of anything! Why does everyone think I'm afraid of something? Yes, I have common fears like anyone else, but why does any of that matter?" Howard asks starting to feel angry about the situation.

D. Strange puts his right hand up in front of Theresa and shakes his head before she could even say anything. "Forget I said anything. You made your point pretty clear." Dr. Strange turns his attention to Theresa who blinks confused as to why he would push it away.

"Good, because I'm going to see what he is up to, and no one is going to stop me." Howard walks off to the battlefield getting Dr. Strange to sigh.

"I thought you told us not to go down there, Dr. Strange." Theresa says as she watches Howard leave them.

"I did, but it seems Randy's best friend is going through some major conflicts inside his mind. Right now. Howard will not amount up to anything unless he decides to do something about them." Dr. Strange explains to her.

"I see." Theresa mutters not sure on how she should take the situation.

"You don't have to worry Theresa. Howard and Randy's friendship with each other is strong like Howard told us, but his turmoil is something most people go through. Right now, Howard is struggling with Randy moving on with life while he has been staying in the same spot, and he doesn't want to leave his comfort zone. This test was mainly for Randy, but it seems Howard has a test of his own to take now."

"I hope they can pull through this then." Theresa mutters as she looks at the battlefield worry across her face.

"I'm a bit surprised that you are still wondering this battlefield." The first Ninja admits as he follows Randy through the battlefield of broken weapons.

"It's as what you have told me. I need to know what I will be facing in the future just in case this guy plans on destroying anything else." Randy responds before stopping at a broken battle axe.

"True, but you never faced his power meaning you will not know how it will be used until you see it in person."

"Alright, you got me there, but is it possible for you to teach me how to understand how battles went?" Randy asks as he looks at the battle axe.

"I don't see the problem with that."

"Good, because all I got from this was that air is powerful and destructive in the wrong hands."

The first Ninja nods, "Ok, and your observation is not wrong even though I already told you that air is powerful."

"Honestly, I just wanted to see what kind of weapons these people used and get an idea on what I should use against him."

"What did you come up with in the end?"

"Nothing." Randy lowers his head in shame as he puts his hands in his pockets. "I see just about every type of weapon I can think of: sais, nunchucks, swords, axes, daggers…I even saw a broken chain."

"Then it shows you are being observant, but you cannot let this get you down Ninja. You were chosen for a reason."

Randy rubs the back of his neck with his right hand and gives the first Ninja a serious look. "What do you want me to do then?"

"A Ninja cannot make a choice just from observation but from the knowledge it gains."

"I don't have any knowledge about the elements though."

"Then get some. The mask holds some of those power Randy. Use them."

Randy watches as his mentor fades away and puts his hands in front of him. 'The mask holds the power.' He reaches into his pocket and pulls the mask out looking at it with a curious look. 'How much power does this mask have from all of those five elements?'

"Cunningham!"

Randy turns around to see Howard running to him. He watches Howard run up to him and crosses his arms over his chest as his best friend stops a few feet in front of Randy. Howard bends over putting his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath getting Randy to shake his head with a goofy grin on his face. "Did you really have to run all the way here?"

"I…didn't…run…the whole…time." Howard says between deep breaths.

"Howard, you wouldn't be breathing hard if you didn't run all the way here. Why are you here anyway? I thought this was supposed to be my test."

"It is." Howard straightens his back and catches his breath. "Theresa was starting to worry about you when you started to wonder deeper into the battlefield."

Randy raises an eyebrow and gives Howard a disbelieving look. "If that was true, why didn't she come here herself?"

"You know girls. Most of them do not like getting themselves dirty or walk through a field of broken weapons."

"Howard…" Randy shakes his head at his best friend's lie and turns his back to Howard getting the teen to blink a couple times in confusion. "If you're going to lie, you could have made it believable."

Howard slouches knowing that Randy caught his obvious lie. "Ok fine, I was worried about you man. I thought something was happening, and I couldn't stand losing my best friend."

Randy chuckles, "Normally I would be touched, and I still am." He turns back around and asks, "Howard, why were you worried about me? I thought Dr. Strange explained that this place is just a battlefield of weapons."

"Exactly, it's just weapons. Did it ever occur to you why there are no bodies?" Howard asks not meaning to change the subject.

Randy blinks a couple times and looks around the area noticing that Howard was right. "Ok, you got a good point." Randy puts his right hand to his chin and starts thinking. 'Why are there no bodies? I mean this place was a battle a long time ago, but bones don't disappear unless air... First Ninja is right. I know nothing about my own powers.' Randy looks down at his hands then turns to Howard. "Ok, I think I got everything I needed from here."

"Good, because this place gives me the creeps."

"Can't argue with you there, buddy." Randy and Howard start walking away with the wind blowing through their hair.

Later that night

Randy watches Howard and Theresa leave his home then shuts the door a couple seconds later. He sighs and walks to his room not liking the idea of how powerful his enemies are. 'Just how powerful are they?' He thinks referring to the three people who are holding the three elemental stones.

"You shouldn't think about their power."

Randy jumps and shuts the door behind him with his back against the door. "What the juice man?! Why do you do stuff like that?" He asks as he stares at his mentor leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Hm, it seems we have more training to do."

"Are we going to be training all night inside the Nomicon, because I need to get some sleep for school tomorrow?" Randy asks not liking the idea of losing sleep for training.

"Tomorrow is Saturday."

Randy blinks a couple times and smiles sheepishly, "Ok, you got me there. I just want to hang out with Howard like we used to. You can't blame me for that."

"That might be true, but you are not who you used to be Randy. You've grown a lot and still have much more growing to do." Randy looks down at his hands as the first Ninja continues. "A true hero must sacrifice personal feelings to protect those who need it."

Randy sighs, "Fine, let's get to training. I might as well look like I'm asleep on my bed than passed out on the floor." He grabs the Nomicon and climbs onto his top bunk not paying attention to the fact that his mentor disappeared. He lays down on his bed and opens the Nomicon up getting his mind to enter the book immediately. The book slips from his hands and lands right on his face, and his arms fall onto the bed making it look like he fell asleep on his bed.

Dr. Strange flips the page of the book he is holding and looks over it hoping to find something that will allow him to find the elemental stones. He hears the door open to the study but continues looking over the text on the book. He flips the page and feels his friend, Wong, standing in front of him. He looks up at Wong and asks, "Is there something that you need Wong?"

"I do admire that you are helping the boy with his problems Stephen, but you have to remember that you have other duties to attend to." Wong reminds his friend.

"I know, but something about these stones worry me, and I'm not sure what it could be."

Wong nods his head understanding his friend's worry. "Do you think it might have something to do with Dormammu?" Wong decides to start with one of their biggest concerns.

"No, but thanks for having me be even more worried. Dormammu will be another thing we can worry about later unless he leaves the Dark Dimension." Strange explains hoping that his enemy is not part of the plan with the elemental stones. "Has he ever shown any knowledge about the stones when you guys faced him in the past?"

"Negative, but we mostly fought his followers not him directly with the exception of The Ancient One." Wong explains noticing the uneasy look his friend has on his face. "What will you do once you do find out how to locate the elemental stones?"

Dr. Strange sighs and shuts the book feeling defeated that his search has been coming to multiple dead ends. "If we find the water and metal stones before someone else does, then we can try to focus the dark energy out of the stones, but in order to do that the actual holders will have to find them which could take years or even decades."

"True, but we will worry about it when the time comes. Right now, we got to get some rest for tomorrow. Mr. Cunningham will most likely be training with his mentor tonight, and you have other duties that need to be tended to."

Dr. Strange chuckles and gets up off his chair. "You always seem to know what my mind needs to focus on. I'm actually glad that you're my friend Wong."

"Well, someone has to put up with everything you do."

"I'll let that comment slide." Dr. Strange leaves the study with Wong following him and closing the door behind them.

"We are running out of options."

"I know, but this kind of risk is something we cannot just do on the fly."

"It's not that we're trying to pressure you Air, but with our search limits getting extremely low, the Sorcerous Supreme will find us whether we like it or not."

"What do you two suggest then?"

"The Xiaolin Monks have the Fountain of Hui and the Eagle Scope."

"Why would we need something like Shen gong Wu, Fire? The Fountain of Hui has infinite knowledge, but it does not tell us the location of the elemental stones."

"No, but it will tell us the history of where the stones went to."

"She's right."

"Fine, but we need to make sure that this is finished with quickly. We do not need to attract unwanted attention."

"Those Xiaolin Monks won't know what hit them until it is too late."

Well, this is the start of the short story that will focus on Randy Cunningham and his adventure to finding and fighting the holders of the elemental stones. There is much to explore so don't be a stranger.

I will admit that this story will introduce more characters from different cartoons, and it does include Xiaolin Showdown. The Xiaolin Monks will have a big part in this short story, but the focus will still be on Randy. If you have read the story Phantom Evolution Rewrite (need to make a better title) then you will know that I do plan to have Phantom, Angelic Code, Force, Guardian, Agent Number 9, and Ladybug to make some appearances in the future.

Anyway, I'm just going to sign out here and say…R&R